Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Fingerprints done!

We got our fingerprints done yesterday. We have a completed, notarized copy of the homestudy. Now we just wait for our I171H (approval from CIS). The letter they sent us says that should take 45 days once they get the fingerprints, which take 10 days to process. So, we have 54 days left! HA! I'll believe it when I see it. I've heard it takes much longer.

Regarding the address problem, we called CIS and they told us we have to drive to the local CIS office to correct the problem in person. First off, the 'local' office is 3-4 hours away!! That means taking a vacation day off work to drive halfway across the state. Second, it's THEIR mistake. Our application is very clear (I kept a copy). They had a typo. I asked when I went to get fingerprinted yesterday if they could help, and they said no, I had to call CIS. I explained the situation and what CIS told me and they said that's ridiculous...but they still couldn't help me. So we called CIS again and spoke with a much nicer person (after being on hold for 47 minutes) who told us she couldn't even look our info up in the system without an application number. And the I600A forms don't get assigned application numbers! So she said we had to go in person. Whatever. I've written a letter and enclosed a copy of our app, as well as contacted the senator's office. They're going to try to straighten it out for us. What a mess! All this over ONE digit that was mistyped. We just don't want to take a chance of not getting our approval because our mailman doesn't catch it next time. We're lucky we got the fingerprint referral, considering it was addressed wrong.

On a brighter note, we've already received two gifts for Dylan (I think the name is sticking!). Dad bought us a used car seat. He cleaned it up and it looks like new! It has the LATCH system, which means the base clicks into these metal loops built into newer cars (my SUV has them, but Chris' car doesn't). The carrier can be detached from the base, so no messing with seatbelts and tying things in. Much faster. Hopefully, he'll be small enough to still use an infant carrier (under 20 pounds). I would imagine he would be, but I've heard of a couple 6-month-old's from VN that were already around that weight! The other gift we got was a big gift basket full of baby boy stuff. They were auctioning several different baskets to raise money for my nephew's baseball league and I told my sister I'd pay up to $50 for that basket if she'd bid for me (I wasn't going to stay at the park all day). She ended up going to $60, then said she wanted to buy it for me as a present for the baby. It's SO cute! It's a wooden box that's painted blue and has an airplane on it. Inside, there was a $20 gift card to Walmart, several blankets, an oufit (0-3 months-may be too small), a digital thermometer, a teething ring, ear suction thing, medicine dropper, bibs, and some other stuff. Definitely worth $60! We're so excited about it all!

We also hit a couple garage sales and got a doorway jumper, a bouncy seat, 27 articles of clothes (sizes 6-12 months), a sling carrier, umbrella stroller, and a pack 'n play. All that for $24!! And it's all in good condition. Some of the clothes still had tags on it. And for those thinking "Quit buying stuff-people want to buy things for your shower!"-I've already heard this a couple times-don't worry. We started with NOTHING for a baby, so there is still a LOT that we need. We're not sure if he'll still be on bottles, but most likely he will be, so we'll need all the stuff associated with that, diapers, diaper bag, etc. In fact, we've started a baby registry at Babiesrus.com. You can search by my name if you want to see! We'll be adding more once we know age and size.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Sounds like things are moving along. And YEAH for presents and getting so much for Dylan! I am just so happy for you guys!! Dylan is one lucky boy!!